About PEP

The Washington University Prison Education Project was established when a group of faculty, who were interested in teaching elite college courses in prison, began meeting in 2011. In 2014, they secured funding from the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison and began teaching for-credit, college-level classes at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC) in Pacific, Missouri. In 2015, the Office of the Provost at Washington University also provided funding for PEP. As of Fall 2016, PEP is the only program of its kind that is fully funded by the university, itself. In addition to offering courses for incarcerated students, PEP also offers courses for correctional staff.